Review of Kalayla

[Elizabeth Burgess]

[Following is a volunteer review of "Kalayla" by Jeannie Nicholas.]

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4 out of 4 stars

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Kalayla, a novel by Jeannie Nicholas, explores the troubles and triumphs of three people living in Boston at the beginning of the new millennium. The first of these is Lena, a seventy-something year old woman who struggles to reclaim her life after a series of personal tragedies leaves her empty and alone. The second is Maureen, a thirty year old mother that’s dealing with her own loss and trying to raise a young daughter at the same time. Last is Kalayla herself— a wayward twelve year old with a foul mouth and little respect for any adult. The three are brought together by a collection of unfortunate circumstances, and each are presented with new challenges as the seasons change. Love of family is an overarching theme throughout the entire book; what we would do to keep it, or in some cases, get it back.

One of the things I enjoyed most about Kalayla is the conversational tone in which it’s written. Every new chapter, no matter who it’s narrated by, is like stopping in to visit an old friend; each of the perspectives is funny and irreverent in their own way, without taking away from any of the darker aspects of the book. For example, Maureen’s point of view is often told in a rambling fashion that mimics her flighty personality. Kalayla, on the other hand, uses hard language and profanity to express herself, which is both age appropriate and hilarious.

While I liked the book immensely, some of the more adult themes were hard to read. They were incredibly well crafted and well written, but their realism was slightly jarring at times; harsh topics like racism, sexual violence, and domestic abuse appear in and are an integral part of each perspective. However, this is less of criticism and more of a warning. I would still happily read this novel again despite the painful undercurrents and stories that arise periodically. Other than some difficult subject matter, I have very few complaints. There are no spelling errors that I can find, although the slang some characters use could possibly be mistaken for such.

I can only rate Kalayla four out of four stars. The author’s word choice was stunning, the characterisation was phenomenal, and although the book was quite lengthy, it was an incredible read. I could immediately tell that a lot of love and thought had been put into every aspect, including editing. The plot may have initially drawn me in, but in the end, it was the intense and believable narrators that kept me flipping from one page to the next.

Due to the more mature societal and personal issues discussed in this novel, I would only recommend it for young adults and older; while Kalayla is a preteen in the story, certain parts are not suitable for middle-grade or younger readers. The book seems to be geared more towards the adult fiction market, but I feel that it can be enjoyed by teens as well.

Overall, I found Kalayla to be a wonderful mishmash of laughter, chaos, and a lot of tears. Hats off to Jeannie Nicholas— she did an amazing job.

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Kalayla
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[Bradley Shelvie]

Kalayla was indeed an amazingly engaging read. Nice review!